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Should Phils advance, Doc wants the ball

Should Phils advance, Doc wants the ball

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PHILADELPHIA -- Roy Halladay assured manager Charlie Manuel that he would be ready for the World Series should the Phillies advance, despite the right groin injury he pitched through in Game 5 in the National League Championship Series against the Giants.

"Oh yeah, he made it clear to me [he could pitch]," Manuel said. "He said, on his regular time, he said he'll be ready to go."

General manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. classified the injury as a "mild to moderate strain" of Halladay's right groin. The right-hander labored in Game 5 through his injury, suffered sometime in the game's second inning. Despite the impairment and with his team facing elimination, the ace delivered six solid innings, limiting the Giants to two runs on six hits.

"It tells a whole lot about who he is," Manuel said of Halladay's performance. "He fought and he battled and he got us right to a pretty good place in the game, where we could use our bullpen and things worked out for us. But that definitely shows what type of person he is. He came here to win."

"I thought he pitched great," Game 6 starter Roy Oswalt said. "I've had groin injuries before in the past. They're tough to pitch with. Especially because you don't get to use your lower half and you have to throw mostly upper body."

Manuel and the Phillies did not know, however, whether Halladay would be available in his bullpen for a potential Game 7 on Sunday night. The team doctors would continue to monitor the right-hander, who threw 108 pitches in Thursday's win.

"I think we'll have to wait and see a little bit, see where he's at and how he feels," Manuel said about using Halladay in Game 7. "That would be hard for me to answer right now."